A little coherence in photosynthetic light harvesting

Abstract

How could quantum mechanics possibly be important in biology We will discuss this question in the light of recent experiments that suggest that quantum mechanics - or at least coherence - is at play after photosynthesis is initiated by light. First, we give a brief description of light harvesting in photosynthesis. We follow this with an introduction to two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy, in which we demonstrate how this spectroscopic technique can be used to indicate coherent contributions to energy transfer dynamics. As a final point, we focus on the possible role that coherence may play in photosynthetic biological systems. © 2013 The Author(s) 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.